Chit-Chatting and Questioning the World

Have you ever achieved a Guinness World Record? Well this month's guest, Jeremiah Harris, holds the Guinness World Record for the largest Venus Fly Trap and has one of the most extensive collections of carnivorous plants in the U.S! In the newest podcast series named "an environmental voyage," Ari converses with Jeremiah on his journey to becoming such a plant professional, and they play a Wheel of Fortune game. Can Jeremiah guess the plant Ari is thinking of? Hint: it's in the episode's title!

In this month's episode, Ari brings back one of the most listened-to episodes (drumroll please) ... "How Plants See the World." Since it was so highly listened-to, she starts off a new season by introducing a new series called "an environmental voyage!" In this episode, she converses with Aubree Keurajian, a botanist and yard restoration consultant who was educated as an ecologist. They discuss Aubree's day-to-day work, all things plant life, including invasive species that threaten their way of life and plant identification, as well as arbitrary facts surrounding botany in a trivia game! What is an arrowwood viburnum? Ari puts Aubree's knowledge to the test. Listen to get a glimpse of some leafy legends!

In celebration of Ari's book release of "A Curious Book on Curious Minds," she converses with Amy Zaslansky: the founder of Book Fairies. The Book Fairies is an organization that sources and redistributes books to under-resourced communities on Long Island, New York City and internationally to provide equitable opportunities for children to learn, grow, and thrive. All money made from the selling of Ari's book will go directly to the "Save the Children" foundation in order to reach children who are missing out most on learning and education. The Book Fairies organization, too, works to increase literacy rates by collecting books from those who have an excess and redistributing them to those who are in-need. Ari and Amy converse about the significance of education inequality in the modern day and play a game to find out how much Amy has memorized surrounding the results of high literacy!

Ari converses with George and Lizbeth, two crucial members of the Be The Match organization: a community of donors, volunteers, health care professionals and researchers who deliver cures by helping patients get the life-saving marrow transplants they need! George shares his moving story surrounding how Be The Match saved his life, while Lizbeth discusses her role in being part of the recruitment team at Be The Match, which encompasses her signing up potential donors to save lives. Be The Match is a global company on a mission to allow stories like George's to exist; it will be extremely difficult to not feel a deep call to action at the end of this episode! Are you in?

Are you interested in advocacy? How about spreading your message across the world? In another advocacy-themed episode, Angel Cheng and Ari converse about advocacy work in countries all over the world! (These episodes serve as a hint to the release of an upcoming project). From founding the Xin Young Foundation to being a committee member of the Taiwan National Ministry of Education, as well as volunteering in a Ukrainian refugee camp, writing letters to the Czech republic and working on poverty alleviation in Africa, Angel is an inspiration to all. Ari and Angel discuss Angel's various projects, as well as advice for those interested in advocacy work.

Are you an aspiring surgeon? Do you want to be in the military? How about an author? Maybe all 3!? Well today you have the chance of listening to Thomas Kelso, a current orthopedic surgeon who has served in the navy and is the author of 3 successful books! Ari and Tom converse about his unique journey in detail, including his time in the navy taking care of 600 men on ships. Listen in to better understand the world of medicine through an intriguing perspective!

Happy New Year! For this month's episode, Ari converses with Amy Dugliss: the executive director of the Advocates Incorporated organization. In fact, this episode is a hint into a huge project underway for the podcast. The Advocates group supports children and adults with disabilities and their families with one-on-one mentors, self-directed Community habilitation and residential supports. They discuss all that encompasses this incredible community, its backstory, and all Amy does.

Ariella Rukhlin discusses turning back time with Dmitry Rukhlin, an author and time enthusiast. They debate both sides of the argument: the pros and cons of losing an hour of sleep. Why don't all countries change their clocks? How is it that losing one hour of sleep affects productivity and health? Yet changing back clocks promote active lifestyles? Let's talk about it.

Ari discusses immunology with De-Witte Orr: an Associate Professor in the Departments of Health Sciences and Biology at Wilfrid Laurier University. In fact, she is the recipient of Laurier's Early Career Research Award, the Robert G. Boutilier New Investigator Award from the Canadian Society of Zoology and the Young Scientist Award from the Society For In Vitro Biology, in which she was the first Canadian recipient. In 2021, she discovered a new cell line to use as a model for studying coronaviruses. They converse about cells, their potency, the immune system, circumstances that influence immunity (like genes versus environmental factors), day in the life, the path to becoming an immunologist, and lots more. They also play a GAME and compare organelles in the cell to foods!! The cell membrane reminded her of jello…

Ari discusses entertainment law with Dr. Marcie Cleary: a partner in the Entertainment Group at Frankfurt Kurnit, representing clients in the film, television, digital and book publishing industries. In fact, Ms. Cleary has also become on of the podcast industry's go-to-lawyers and was recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the 2021 edition of “Ones to Watch” for entertainment and sports law. They talk day in the life, the path to becoming a lawyer, and lots more.

Ari discusses emergency medicine with Dr. Portillo, an emergency medicine physician at the Texas Children's Hospital with one working eye! Despite the obstacles she's forced to face every day, she continues working hard in the most unpredictable field of medicine. You'll get to learn about Dr. Portillo's unique story, path in getting to where she is today, inspirations for getting into emergency medicine, the way in which it's different from other professions, the raw experience of an emergency medicine physician, and more!

Happy summer! In a warm month, Ari brings to you a bonus episode! She discusses the most hidden historical truths and unique fun facts with Dr. Ayers: a historian who received the National Humanities medal from Barack Obama in 2013! They also play an odd game of trivia… How come Sultan Ibrah drowned his concubines in a river?? You'll have to listen to find out.

What's in it for you after college? In this bonus graduation episode, Ari discusses the intense world of college, graduate school and residency with Dr. Herman and Dr. Andrusier; who are the first same-sex couple from their medical school to be admitted as a match to Harvard residency! What's special and unique about their story is how totally different their paths were in achieving this goal. Ari also makes sure to play a fun game of “Which one of you truly deserved to get into Harvard?”

The gut microbiome holds 39 trillion bacteria, has an incredible function, and is responsible for our health. Ari discusses all of the above with Dr. Leigh Frame! What's the optimal diet to maintain a healthy gut microbiome? What is its role in the human body? How does the gut affect mental health? How do technologies allow us to analyze our own microbiome for the type of bacteria it holds? Check out more unique content on chitchatworld.org!

Why am I having the same re-occurring dream every night? What is the significance of my dreams?? Are dreams a sign of anxiety? Do men and women really dream differently? What's lucid dreaming and how does it work? How can I learn to dream every night? Are dreams a foreshadow of the future? Ari interviews Dr. Ben Rein, a current post-doctoral fellow, going into the neuroscience field at Stanford University, whom has a deep knowledge of dreams! They discuss both the mystery and magic of dreams: a highly requested topic...

Ari discusses the mysteries of the sea with Igor Adameyko, who uses microscopes to look at sea creatures closely as his hobby. He has met fascinating creatures while doing so: water mite, Hydrozoan jellyfish, sea worms and zebra copepods! Igor recently studied a sea creature made up of two organisms, one being a snake! Ari dives into Igor's recent research, as well as fun facts about creatures he's taken a close look at. Mediterranean Red Sea stars are a vivid red-orange color because that color enables them to become completely black in the depths of the ocean! Did you also know Hydrozoan jellyfish are tiny!? Not all jellyfish are as big as we think...

How do nuclear power plants work? What's the benefit of using nuclear power? Are there risks that are involved? In the past we've seen them to be quite dangerous! We've all heard of Chernobyl and the Fukushima Japan nuclear disasters... Ari answers these questions with Andy Paez, who has been operating nuclear power plants ever since his time in the navy and is currently disassembling power plants. They also play a game of two truths and one lie: nuclear power edition.

The brain is the most complex organ, well... according to our brain. What if I told you, it is possible to EXPAND the brain the same way diapers expand?? We can also fire specific neurons in the brain to find harmful proteins responsible for Alzheimer's and blindness using a new technology... Ari discusses these insane possibilities with Edward Boyden, the pioneer of Expansion spectroscopy and Optogenetics, and a crucial asset of the neural engineering group at MIT!! Chit-Chatting and Questioning the World (chitchatworld.org)

College is a stressful subject... When should I start visiting colleges? How many colleges should I apply to? What is the ACT versus SAT? A Myth Busting game is also played: Do seniors really not have to try anymore after they apply to colleges? Is junior year really the most difficult year? Ari interviews Mr. Kevin Carbonetti, the associate principal of guidance, Mr. John Madden, a school counselor and varsity swim coach, and two seniors with completely different academic paths, Emme Schnell and Gillian Pivnick, who discuss their past experiences and give some helpful advice.

Genetic Engineering: altering our genes What's CRISPR and how can it be used to edit our very own genes? Will we be able to design eye color for the children of the next generation using CRISPR? Is it even ethical to be able to edit our genes? Ari interviews Sean Jackewicz, a geneticist and medical student. Two of her close peers, Hannah Ott and Christian Bier, join in on the episode for triple the fun. They play a game of Spooky Science in which they guess which animal has been genetically modified out of 3. Does the spider-goat exist?

Ari interviews her eighth guest, Tom Seidler, as the fourth and last edition of the CAREER SERIES! They discuss Tom's journey of becoming an owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team. Tom also plays a game of Myth Busting where he breaks down some common assumptions about baseball. Thinking of pursuing a career in the sports industry? This episode is for you. You just might own the next huge baseball team.... Chit-Chatting and Questioning the World (chitchatworld.org)

Ari interviews her seventh guest, Derrick Wright, as the third edition to the latest CAREER SERIES! They converse about Derrick's path to becoming the drummer of Adele and other known music artists. One including a special someone of the last name "Keys." They play a game in which Ari asks Derrick questions about Adele to truly test how much he knows her. It gets exciting! There'll be games in all future episodes. Listen in to understand what it takes to become a successful person in the music industry. You just might be your favorite singer's next music director, drummer, guitar player or take on another role in the tough music industry. By getting to know Derrick, you'll be a few steps closer to reaching that achievement. Chit-Chatting and Questioning the World (chitchatworld.org)

Ariella Rukhlin interviews her sixth guest, Rachel Culhane, as the second edition of the latest CAREER SERIES! They converse about Rachel's role being Estée Lauder's Vice President of the Research and Development makeup formulation division! Estée Lauder is a widely known makeup brand across the globe. Listen in to discover what it takes to earn such an affluent and inspirational job as a woman in today's society working in the makeup industry. Rachel gives some helpful advice for high-school and college students as well. (There will be a future giveaway involving some of Estée Lauder's products… latest news on the podcast's Instagram- chitchattingtheworld.podcast).

Ariella Rukhlin interviews her fifth guests, Todd Alexander and Alex Kaplan as a first part of the newest CAREER SERIES! We discuss Todd's and Alex's business careers; Todd works in product development and Alex in sales and marketing. As well as the different ways they got to working in business. Todd has a shaky background and got bad grades in high school, while Alex was an extraordinary A+ student. Listen in to get insight on the different ways to get into business, or more generally, find the career you love. WEBSITE: chitchatworld.org

Ariella Rukhlin interviews her fourth guest, Dmitry Rukhlin. They discuss a plant's five senses; hear, touch, smell, see, and taste. Hear- plants are able to block out background noise to focus in on the sound of a bee's wings. Woah, I can barely sound out background noise myself. Knowing a plant can do it more easily than me is frustrating.

Ariella Rukhlin interviews her third guest, Julia Fiskin. They talk about stress, its effect on teenagers and how to best cope with it. 80% of high schoolers have mental health issues! Listen in to truly understand stress and when it becomes unhealthy.

Ariella Rukhlin interviews her second guest, Jodie Cohen. They discuss what work goes behind rescuing dogs in Ruff House Rescue. Listen in to find out what exactly involvement can look like and how to save our precious creatures. Contact Jodierhr@gmail.com to get involved or if you have any questions regarding rescues:)

Ariella Rukhlin interviews her very first guest, Dimitry Rukhlin. They discuss the Fermi Paradox and attempt to answer some commonly asked questions.... “will we ever interact with extraterrestrial life?” Listen in to a very informal discussion!

Welcome to Chit-Chatting and Questioning the World, a podcast of curious minds. Ariella Rukhlin, your host, will discuss all the wonders of the world with experts while having a laugh. How do molecules control our daily life? That's a good question! Let's dive right in! Not only will it expand your range of knowledge but it'll also improve your speaking skills. Get ready to discuss some intriguing questions in episodes of this podcast.